Having seen all sorts of watches whilst browsing Seiko I came across some very fancy ones displaying paintings on the dials and I got interested in the origin and meaning of these. There is very little information online but I managed to find out that these watches are mostly from the 70's and they are actually mod's (modified watches) made back then. On these watches only the dial has been modified though and they display various motifs from the Ukiyo-e artform that was prevalent during the Japanese Edo era.
Seiko "Ukiyo-e" on an Actus, by artist Toshusai Sharaku
The term Ukiyo-e is related to the artform itself and Wikipedia offers the following: "Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. The term ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as 'picture[s] of the floating world'."
Seiko "Ukiyo-e", by artist Torii Kiyonaga (lady holding umbrella)
I was explained in 2023 by one Japanese seller that this is a kind of a master piece to prove your skill as a watchmaker. He also told me that most of these "masterpieces" were held by one collector (?) who has lately been releasing them by selling his collection off in dribs and drabs as I understood.
Seiko "Ukiyo-e", by artist Kitagawa Utamaro (woman blowing a popen (glass noisemaker))
So the job is essentially that the dial is to be covered by an old stamp and it had to be made thinner to not impede on the function of the watch. This also entailed taking the watch apart, remove all indices and other parts on the dial, then attach the stamp on the clean dial and on top of the stamp reattach all loose bits and the reassemble the watch and see that it works and that everything is properly aligned. For this work it seems the most popular model was Seiko Lord Matic as they do have a lot of stuff on the dial as well as it wasn't a very expensive movement. Sounds simple but I think so many things could go wrong with incorrect tools and fat fingers. In the end I think the result is quite remarkable and it encompasses the essence of Japanese culture on a Japanese made watch.
I did some philately research on the Ukiyo-e stamps and can find series dating back from 50's onwards, they appear to have been reprinted from time to time.
Seiko "Ukiyo-e", by artist Torii Kiyonaga
Old Japanese stamps, it appears the ones used for the Ukiyo-e watches, are the edition issued once a year called "philately week" from the end of 1950's. Not sure if there was more than one stamp set in the series each year. I also saw them reissued various Ukiyo-e series later in 2000's. The end 50's stamps look quite dark and maybe were not used for dials, could also just be the scan quality. Below are some examples that I found on the net:
The Seiko museum also lists some Ukiyo-e prints with featured clocks but is not related to these modded watches, still an interesting detail to note!
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Note the lantern clock with a single foliot left of the whispering women
(Courtesy of Seiko museum)
Note the clock left of the Bijinga woman by Chikanobu Yoshi
(Courtesy of Seiko museum)
Various watchforums have noted the Ukiyo-e watches existence but they're not really bringing much insight into the matter. After all, these are just modded watches and not much else, of course for the maker of one it was his/ hers masterpiece and for the collector it could be his/hers apple of the eye. Another opinion that I read was that it was the work of retailers that wanted to create unique items for sale to tourists, still to whatever purpose they were made, it required some effort and skill. Who knows, whatever it was, it worked, and the watches still retain their mystery and interest to the public.
Below a few links to various forums about Ukiyo-e:
Seiko has ever only made and published a "Ukiyo-e" dial that is on their Credor line costing thousands. It is a limited edition tourbillon of 8pcs based on the artist Hokusai's "Great wave over Kanagawa". The same wave motif is probably one of the most famous around the world and can be seen used on many run of the mill watches that are being churned out by every modding tom, dick and jerry out there. The one by Seiko though surpasses these "el-cheapos" as it retails 50mil JPY that is equal to approx 300.000EUR.
Credor tourbillon "Great Wave over Kanagawa" by Hokusai
Also the newly published King Seiko line is called "Ukiyoe", the dial patterns relate to the art form as there is no picture on the dials, they explain: "The first of them is the Garyu-Bai Red edition, which has a rich red colour and a five-petal flower motif. Second is Tenjin-Fuji Violet, a pale purple version with a vine pattern. Last is Kameido Blue, which has a tessellating hexagon pattern inspired by the shell of a tortoise."
New King Seiko line "Ukiyoe"
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